Minutes: Strategic Planning Committee September 24, 2009

MINUTES: STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 24, 2009

MINUTES
BOARD OF GOVERNORS

STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF FLORIDA
STRATEGIC PLANNING & ACADEMIC & SYSTEM OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE

TRADITIONS HALL, GIBBONSALUMNICENTER

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHFLORIDA

TAMPA, FLORIDA
SEPTEMBER 24, 2009

Mr. Martin convened the meeting of the Strategic Planning and Academic and System Oversight Committee of the Board of Governors at10:20 a.m., inTraditions Hall, Gibbons Alumni Center, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, September 24, 2009, with the following members present: John Barnes, John Dasburg, Ann Duncan, Dr. Stan Marshall, Sheila McDevitt, Ava Parker, Carolyn Roberts, Dr. Judith Solano, Gus Stavros, John Temple, Norman Tripp, and Dr. Zach Zachariah. Charlie Edwards participated by telephone.

Mr. Martin said the Committee was involved in a number of exciting projects, including the development of work plans and annual reports. He said he was pleased with the work underway with the university representatives. He said as an outgrowth of this process, the Board was looking at the universities more strategically. He said it might be the time to update the Board’s Strategic Plan. He said he planned to visit each campus and spend several hours discussing each university’s strategic planning process. He said by the end of the process, the Board would determine how the System would look. He said the Board also needed to understand the impact of the Florida College System. He said there were many dynamics in play.

He said the Florida Chamber of Commerce would be hosting a forum in Orlando, October 12-14, 2009, the Future of Florida Forum. He said this would include both local and national players. He said he would encourage Board members to attend.

1.Approval of Minutes of MeetingheldAugust 6, 2009

Dr. Zachariah moved that the Committee approve the Minutes of the Meeting held August 6, 2009, and the Minutes of the Workshop also held on August 6, 2009, as presented. Ms. Duncan seconded the motion, and members of the Committee concurred.

2.Academic Programs

1. Request for Exception to 120 Hours to Degree for Bachelor’s of Music with an Emphasis in Music Business, FAU

Dr. Marshall explained that FAU had requested an exception to allow the Bachelor’s of Music with an emphasis in Music Business to exceed 120 credit hours to degree. He said this request was made to accommodate credit hours currently assigned to the required eight semesters of Commercial Music Forum, which were previously non-credit learning experiences. He said the FAU Board of Trustees had approved the request for this exception. He said, if approved, the program would be 132-137 credit hours to degree, varying by program track.

Dr. Marshall moved that the Committee approve the request for the Bachelor of Music with an emphasis in Music Business (CIP 50.0909), at FloridaAtlanticUniversity, to be 132-137 credit hours to degree, as presented. Mrs. Roberts seconded the motion, and members of the Committee concurred.

Mr. Tripp moved that the Committee request a waiver of the policy of waiting another meeting to take final action, to allow FAU to apply the required credit hours this fall. Ms. McDevitt seconded the motion, and members of the Committee concurred.

1. USF Request to Offer Lower-Level Coursework, USF-Polytechnic Campus

Dr. Marshall explained that USF had requested approval for the USF Polytechnic campus at Lakeland to offer lower-level undergraduate courses and enrollment, in accordance with Board Regulation 8.009. He noted that the regulation required lower level courses to be offered at the main campus unless the Board approved the offering of lower-level courses at other sites. He noted that this regulation pre-dated the existence of university boards of trustees and had not been amended to address the new governance structure. He said that as an existing regional branch campus, USF Polytechnic was already encountering situations in which the local 2+2 partner was unable to provide some required lower-level courses for specific majors. He commented that when the campus opened its new site, it would no longer be primarily co-located with Polk State College. He noted that if the Board did not authorize these lower-level courses, USF students would have to travel across the county to enroll in courses they might need. He added that as new degree programs were developed within the polytechnic education model, this campus was expected to begin attracting a greater number of first-time-in-college students who would need access to lower-level courses. He commented that the ability to offer lower-level courses was also related to increasing undergraduate enrollment.

Dr. Marshall said the 2009 Legislature had established a statutory requirement for the USF Polytechnic campus to achieve separate SACS accreditation and provided USF with additional enhancement funding of $5 million to help accomplish this task. He said the USF Polytechnic campus needed to proceed with faculty hiring so that curriculum could be developed in preparation for SACS review and accreditation. He said it was standard procedure to hire faculty before students were enrolled to develop the curriculum. He said this would allow for coordinated degree development and a relevant array of courses. He said the President of Polk State College had submitted a letter in support of offering lower-level courses at USF Polytechnic.

Mr. Dasburg said he was uncomfortable with this action. He said he was concerned that funds were being deflected from existing universities. He said the campus had received an additional $5 million. He said that during his tenure on this Board, he had been opposed to actions related to this campus.

Mr. Tripp said he had had the opportunity to speak with people in the area to get a better understanding of this issue. He noted that President Genshaft had made great strides in reaching out to the community, and there were new feelings as to the services needed there. He said a number of issues were now in the past; the reality was that there were needs to be addressed. He said the community colleges were working with President Genshaft and they had developed a path to achieve great opportunities for students in the area. He said this was the right way to proceed.

Mr. Temple said that as to this action, “the horse was already out of the barn.” He said he was concerned that he had not seen a budget for this project; he said he wanted to know what this project would really cost.

Ms. McDevitt clarified that there were various costs associated with this project. She agreed that staff should provide further information about the budget. She said that USF Polytechnic had a unique mission; the campus needed to move forward with its accreditation, pursuant to the statutory requirement. She said students needed the lower-level courses as prerequisites to the upper-level courses in the polytechnic curriculum. She said there was a specific timeframe for the planning process. She inquired whether President Genshaft’s staff could provide the budgetary information prior to the Board meeting later in the day.

Ms. Parker inquired if USF needed this approval to continue the planning process, as long as the Board received the budget details. President Genshaft said that approval was required in order to meet the deadline for the submission of materials by December.

Mr. Tripp moved that the Committee approve the offering of lower-level undergraduate courses at the USF Polytechnic Campus in PolkCounty, as presented, and recommend approval by the full Board, with the additional budget materials presented to the Board members prior to their final action. Mrs. Roberts seconded the motion.

Mr. Stavros inquired whether President Genshaft had been working with St. PetersburgCollege. President Genshaft said she had.

President Genshaft said she had been a member of the Task Force on State Colleges and had participated in the discussions of the movement of community colleges to state colleges and the awarding of baccalaureate degrees. She said the education landscape was changing; Florida was no longer simply “2 + 2.” She said she expected more of the community colleges would become state colleges and award the four-year degree. She said the model had changed. She said other universities with regional campuses would also be looking to add lower-level courses.

Ms. Duncan said she was concerned about accreditation issues, as well as accountability and transparency. She said the emerging state colleges were subject to different requirements. Ms. McDevitt suggested that to hold the branch campuses accountable, USF should report on its campuses separately.

There were no further comments, and members of the Committee concurred in the motion, with Mr. Dasburg voting no.

Mrs. Roberts moved that the Committee waive the policy of waiting to the next regular meeting for final Board approval to allow USF to move forward with hiring faculty and developing curriculum. Mr. Stavros seconded the motion, and members of the Committee concurred.

1. Public Notice of Intent to Amend Board of Governors Regulations:

BOG Regulation 6.002, Admission of Undergraduate First-Time-in-College, Degree-Seeking Freshmen; BOG Regulation 6.004, Admission of Undergraduate, Degree-Seeking Transfer Students; and BOG Regulation 6.017, Criteria for Awarding the Baccalaureate Degree

Dr. Marshall said the Committee had three amended Board Regulations for notice dealing with undergraduate admissions and criteria for awarding the bachelor’s degree. He said BOG Regulation 6.002, Admission of Undergraduate First-Time-in-College, Degree-Seeking Freshmen, was a substantive rewrite of this regulation and established a new 2.5 GPA/test score minimum recommended by the SUS Admission Directors and Registrars Committee. He said the regulation also included updated high school academic course requirements.

Dr. Marshall said BOG Regulation 6.004, Admission of Undergraduate, Degree-Seeking Transfer Students, had not been updated since 1995. He said it was also a substantive rewrite of the regulation to conform to changes in public postsecondary education and to state university admissions since the 1990s. Sections of the regulation were deleted as they were outdated, inapplicable to admissions, or covered by other regulations.

Dr. Marshall said BOG Regulation 6.017, Criteria for Awarding the Baccalaureate Degree, had been reviewed by the Board at its meeting on August 6, 2009. He said the 2009 Legislature had repealed the section of law relating to the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) and had eliminated funding for the test. He said the regulation had been amended to reflect the new options for standardized tests and college courses that might be used to demonstrate the required skills for an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, as proposed by the Articulation Coordinating Committee.

Dr. Marshall said all three proposed regulations had been reviewed by the Council of Academic Vice Presidents, the Council of Student Affairs, the Admission Directors and Registrars Committee, and the university general counsels.

Dr. Marshall moved that the Committee approve the public notice of intent to amend the following BOG Regulations: BOG Regulation 6.002, Admission of Undergraduate First-Time-in-College, Degree-Seeking Freshmen; BOG Regulation 6.004, Admission of Undergraduate, Degree-Seeking Transfer Students; and BOG Regulation 6.017, Criteria for Awarding the Baccalaureate Degree, as presented, for publication on the Board’s website, pursuant to the Board’s regulation development procedure. Mr. Dasburg seconded the motion, and members of the Committee concurred.

3.Shared Services: Requests for Academic Infrastructure Support Organization Status: FloridaCenter for Library Automation; FloridaInstitute of Oceanography; and University Press of Florida

Ms. Duncan said the Board had adopted a regulation in June 2008 defining Academic Infrastructure Support Organizations and how they were to be established. She said these AISOs provided underlying support and resources for programs in the State University System. She said that a proposal seeking AISO status must include the following: identification of the host institution and participating institutions; the governing structure; the mission and goals of the AISO; a proposed five-year budget plan; and the criteria for cyclic review. She noted that although each AISO’s operational budget would remain in the base of its host institution, the Board might consider additional System-level budget requests that had been first reviewed by the SUS Council of Academic Vice Presidents. She said an AISO proposal must be approved by the host university’s board of trustees, recommended by the Council of Academic Vice Presidents, and ratified by the presidents and chairs of the affected boards of trustees before coming to the Board of Governors for approval. She said these three AISO proposals had made it through this process.

Ms. Duncan moved that the Committee approve Academic Infrastructure Support Organization status for the FloridaCenter for Library Automation, as presented. Ms. McDevitt seconded the motion, and members of the Committee concurred.

Mr. Dasburg moved that the Committee approve Academic Infrastructure Support Organization status for the Florida Institute of Oceanography, as presented. Mr. Tripp seconded the motion, and members of the Committee concurred.

Mr. Tripp moved that the Committee approve Academic Infrastructure Support Organization status for the University Press of Florida, as presented. Mr. Dasburg seconded the motion, and members of the Committee concurred.

Ms. Duncan moved that the Committee waive the policy to wait for final Board action at the next regularly scheduled meeting, and authorize final Board action on these three AISO organizations at this meeting. Mr. Tripp seconded the motion, and members of the Committee concurred.

4.Medical Education, Residency Programs

Mrs. Roberts said that when this Board created two new medical schools in 2006, the Board had commented on the need to be involved in all facets of medical education if there were to be improvements in Florida’s healthcare system. She said the importance of this approach was evident as the federal government attempted to address the complications of national healthcare reform. She said that likethe authors of the CEPRI report, a cornerstone for this Board’s decisions, the Board had agreed that increasing the number of medical residency programs in Florida was as critical as starting new medical schools. She recognized Dr. R.E. LeMon to provide an overview of his report on Medical Residency Programs included in the agenda.

Dr. LeMon said that the issue of medical residencies was a concern nationally, but that it was exacerbated in Florida. He explained that the U.S. did not have a policy regarding numbers of physicians. The number of residencies had been capped in 1997; this was especially disadvantageous for Florida. He said Florida ranked 46th in the nation in the number of residencies. He said that last year there were about 30,000 first-year residency slots available nationally. He said that there were approximately 15,000 graduates of four-year U.S. allopathic programs; the other applicants for residencies were graduates of international medical schools and American graduates of off-shore schools. He said that without an increase in residency slots, there would be a greater number of four-year allopathic graduates matched and fewer international students with no net addition of new physicians. He said that one in four graduates were interested in specialty areas, rather than family medicine because there is up to a $3.5 million differential in lifetime earnings.

Dr. LeMon noted that there had been a great deal of work in Washington, including by Senator Nelson, to address the need for additional residencies. He noted also the efforts of Chair McDevitt to raise the level of concern. He said Senator Peaden was interested in addressing the issue at the state level.

Dr. LeMon introduced Dean Anthony Silvagni, Nova Southeastern College of Medicine, Dean and Chair of the Florida Council of Medical School Deans, and Dr. Mathis Becker. Dr. Silvagni thanked the Board for its interest in meeting the challenges of finding and funding additional residencies. He said CEPRI had addressed the need for additional graduate medical education opportunities; the Board had approved two new medical schools in 2006. He said the training to become a physician required four years of medical school and three to five additional years in a residency program.

He said several organizations were working together in Florida to address the physician workforce, including the Department of Health, this Board and the medical school deans. He said Florida had a low number of residents per capita and with the new medical schools, the state was building a stockpile of future physicians. Without more residencies, the state was not netting new physicians. He said it would take work by everyone to add more residencies to Florida. He said the states had previously relied on Medicare funding; there needed to be more state involvement in funding residencies. He said a Surgeon General’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Health Practitioner Workforce was trying to get more exact data in order to plan for the future.